Worried I might not see my car again!

[smiff 0]

I dropped my car off at Grant Motor Sport 3 weeks ago. From my house it was 140miles to Bristol. I was originally told the work (Gas flowed head, new cams, follows and manifold) would take 2-3 days. I took a few days off work and stayed with friends in Birmingham, waiting for my car. On the understanding Grant would call me when the car was finished and ready for me to pick up. No call.

I called Grant and asked if all was ok and was he ready for me to pick it up.

 

I understand they had some problems with a porous head (Water vapour was present in the exhaust gases) fair enough, shit happens. I did not phone for a few days giving them time to rectify the problem. When I did finally get through (No one at Grants answers the phone!) I was told the car was only putting out 150BHP, and the manifold was glowing red hot. I was told they were going to investigate, probably a fuel delivery problem...? A couple of days later, after I had tried calling Grant, time after time, I was told, after examining the car one of the cams was of the wrong profile?? He was waiting for a replacement cam.

 

I had heard good things about Grant Motor Sport and trusted them to do the work. I’m starting to get really worried now! Will I ever see my car again? Can I put trust in Grant that the car will be ok? What should I do? Does anyone live near Bristol, maybe see if my car is even there?

[g60bv 0]

i wouldn't worry just yet, when my car went in for same treatment p&p cam etc, it was delayed by 2 weeks, problems etc. all was ok in the end, this was in race power motor sport. in kent thou.

[Linus Van Pelt 0]

Don't feel too bad mate. I've had my car at AmD a couple of times, with slightly unexpected results...

 

The first time was to fit a new exhaust (Milltek). How long would you expect that to take normally? An hour, maybe a bit more? It took them over 5 hours to change it :shock: Basically all the bolts and fixings were totally fubar'd and various stuff sheared (which is an (_|_) to fix). The mechanics face was like thunder... probablty would have driven my car off a cliff if he had the chance :lol:

 

Similalry when I had new front wishbones fitted, yet another bolt sheared and I was told that I might need a new subframe :shock: Thankfully they were able to recover it, but the job still took all day (and they had to work overtime to get it done)

 

Any decent company isn't going to ruin there reputation by doing something stupid, but if they don't have a part, they probably stop working on it altogether, rather than carrying on with other stuff. It might also be the case that they only have one person working on it at any one time.

 

I agree that 3 weeks is still a bit much though... fingers crossed for you!

 

DtM.

[Storm 0]

This guy has a serious rep, the quality of the work is supposedly second to none. The issue is everyone wants him to do the work, he's even got othe tuners offering his stuff. He sometimes doesnt answer the phone because it was stopping him working.

 

You'll probably find it being ready soon. Its a PITA, but probably worth it in the end.

[h100vw 0]

In additon to the PM I sent.

 

The glowing manifold sounds like a cam timimg problem to me. Have them put your original cams back in and get your motor back.

Gavin

[RadoAds 0]

Defo a timing prob, did exactly the same to my old mk2 valver after changing the cam belt, somehow a few teeth out and manifold was literally glowing red, we turned the engine off pretty quick when we noticed :lol:

[PhatVR6 0]

The problem with Gant is that his work is very good, but his people skills and customer support suffers a little as a result f his work load.

 

My mate is in touch with grant on a regular basis, I will try and find out what's happening. in the meantime, do you have his mobile number? if not, them PM me and I shall provide you with it.

[smiff 0]

Thanks for your comments.

I do have Grants mobile number and when I do speak to him he is a genuinely a nice bloke. I don't think there's anything he doesn't know about engines. Like I said, there have been a few problems with the car, but he is 'sorting them'. (I do trust the work will be top notch when completed...just a matter of when?) The timing prob (glowing manifold) was put down to the cam he was supplied being 4 degrees out! It was manifactured badly and sent back. Fingers crossed I might get it back this week!

[PhatVR6 0]

The 268 cams I have came from Grant, as did my exhaust valves. no porblems at all with either of them.

 

Bear with it, there's nothing that man hasn't done with a VR6 engine (well, except mybe a turbo conversion, but he might have done one of those too).

[smiff 0]

Well, just driven home from meeting one of Grants mechanics, who drove it up from Bristol.

 

To be honest I don't know what I was expecting? I67bhp! It feels the same to me! It's making more noise, quite a nice sound, but is that what I've paid for? It does deliver a bit more punch at about 4000rpm, but didn't it do that before? It's certainly not breath taking.

 

Perhaps I've been spoilt by driving a few fast cars in the past! Maybe the Corrado is too heavy? Oh well, I was warned that trying to get more power from a KR engine can be expensive and long winded. Was it worth it? Sadly probably not.

 

The good news is while writing this I've just received a call offering me a new job...result, more money and in a few months I'll buy that Lotus Elise. Anyone wanna buy a 16V Corrado?.......Live and learn!

[Storm 0]

It feels the same to me! It's making more noise,.................. It's certainly not breath taking.................... I was warned that trying to get more power from a KR engine can be expensive and long winded. Was it worth it? Sadly probably not.

 

Congratulations on the new job! Sod the Elise. My boss had an Elise which he ended up selling in 3 months. Nice car as a weekend toy but not a daily driver. Get a G60 £700 makes it really really fast or buy a VR and get it chiped for 205-210 BHP. Both seriously fast cars for every day.

[aposegil 0]

NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

please dont tell me your going to get rid of the corrado for a ELISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cuckoo: i made my mate sell his as he could never leave me and when we got upto speed i would over take him on the limiter in 4th going into 5th!!!! and he would be all toped out ;) he could corner quicker than me but not that much more and pick up was slightly better than me

 

Personally if your going to work on a 16v engine for N/A use a 2L bottom end and for f/i use a 1.8L bottom end :mrgreen:

[smiff 0]

Filled the old girl up with a tank Optimax (Not sure what the mechanic who delivered it had used?) and took it for a decent run.

 

Anyway it's not as bad as my previous post suggested. I think a change in my driving style is needed to make the most of the car. With a little practice if I can keep it 'on the cam' above 4000rpm she delivers quite nicely. Sweet sound with a fair amount of torque! If she drops below 4000rpm there seems to be slightly more lag reaching the power. Probably more lag than when she was standard?- This could be a slight flat spot. The idle stabilisation Valve might need cleaning, or maybe the injectors?

 

I'll give it a couple of days and reassess my thoughts on the car. Might if Im not too busy get down to the Ace Cafe this month....last Tuesday of the month?

 

Oh yeah- My new job means using public transport :( I can't drive to London Bridge everyday. The idea of having a Lotus is only for use at the weekend...if I get one It's gotta be a turbotechnics model. + I'll probaby keep the Corrado...me and her go way back!

[smiff 0]

Spoke to Grant today and expressed my concern regarding the grinding noise when accelerating. (Possibly the new exhaust knocking).

 

Also, I originally asked to have Mild cams fitted, but was disappointed to find the power delivery very high up in the rev range!

 

Hopefully I will get new mild cams fitted and the exhaust adjusted, let's just hope it dosn't take three weeks like before.

 

Fingers crossed all will be sorted quickly.

[ben16v 0]

as far as the Elise goes

 

you might look cool spinning around in one an inch off the floor but you do NOT look cool climbing out of it on your hands and knees-cos i couldnt get out the bugger! it might be alright if your about 5ft tall though :lol:

[chris CORRADO 0]

LOL i find it hard enough getting out oy a LOW rado LOL the G/F hates me for slamming it SOOOO much

[RadoAds 0]

I love the C, but after taking an Elise around Donington Park race track as a birthday present from my lovely wife I'd say buy one and keep the C for everyday, but you cant beat the Elise for fun and thrills, I loved it so much we ended up calling my daughter whos now nearly 4 Elise, I thought she would have less a hard time at school than if we called her Dub. :lol:

[smiff 0]

My car is back at Grants. It was picked up on Thursday and he has already fitted mild cams, as I originally asked for. Not totally sure what was fitted before/ or why? The power came in at 4000rpm and then flew upto 7000rpm, impressive but sounded like a hot rod. (Probably not a good idea to redline a 14year old car with 120,000miles everytime you pull away....but, hey it was fun) Have also been told the manifold he was supplied was slightly too short? Causing it to hit the subframe on hard acceleration. A replacement will be fitted on Monday! Also getting new engine mounts as these were shot. Hopefully he will tune her for a smoother idle. Fingers crossed :roll: all will be sorted soon!

 

Better late than never! What a hassle! Second time lucky!!!

[SteveM16v 0]

Keep us posted Smiff - really interested to see how you get on!!

[kongo127 0]

I don´t know Grants... :?

And i am already annoyed with his work!

Does he got a good reputation in motorsport? :lol:

[PhatVR6 0]

I don´t know Grants... :?

And i am already annoyed with his work!

Does he got a good reputation in motorsport? :lol:

 

put it this way, most of the leading cars in the VW Racing cup are built, tuned, and maintained by Grant Motorsport. hence why he rarely has time for private car work.

[kongo127 0]

:shock:

Now that´s a nice reputation!

:D

[smiff 0]

Grant personally delivered my car back to me at work today. What a difference! The mild cams pick up better at lower revs. A new engine mount (supplied and fitted free of charge) helped the replacement manifold clear the steering rack. After a few weeks waiting I feel I can finely relax and start enjoying the car agian.

[smiff 0]

Well, after over a week of driving her, I can clearly say, the Corrado 1.8 16V with over £1300 spent on engine mods, seems no faster than she was before the mods! Well pissed off....What a waste of time and money?

 

A friend of mine is away for a month or two.....I will be looking after his car, an Impreza WRX turbo Prodrive (fairly new).....Let's see if I give it back when he has served a few months for being a bit naughty.

[STORM 2 0]

Let's see if I give it back when he has served a few months for being a bit naughty.

 

What for ? not driving offences surely :wink: